Little Angels
by JustCallMeDisc0rd3r
Summary: This is my 100 Review Special. And I want to thank everyone who got me to this point! The guests, the fans on site, everyone. This is for your guys. *heart* Summary inside. Hope you like, if you do, please review. :D If you don't, help me improve and tell me how I can better it. (Custom drawn cover in progress...:D)
1. Intro :D

_A.N. - So...the poll that I had got only three votes._

_Snow Angels won, but I really wanted to do one for Little Ones. XD_

_So I've decided to combine the two and make us all happy!_

_I present to you..._

_Little Angels_

_X.X.X_

Summary

So many awful occurrences have been thrust into the lives of the ninja.

First the skeletons and Lord Garmadon...

Then the snakes...

Then the Devourer...

Then the Overlord and the Stone Army...

Then the Nindroids...

So many battles needed to be fought to keep NinjaGo city safe...

And for so long it seemed the reign of terror would never cease.

But somehow, for years it has seemed that the balance of good and evil has been restored.

One little Nindroid remains alive, and he is no longer evil, having been purged of the virus in his system, now he is harmless and he wouldn't hurt a fly...

But after all this time in peace it seems that the balance is tipping again...

That there is a new threat arising from the shadows...

They are evil.

Murderous...

And worst of all untraceable.

Mindroid believes that since Zane's body survived, and because he himself was not disintegrated by the death of the Overlord, that perhaps there may be other Nindroids out and about.

Ones that still carry the Overlord virus.

But that is preposterous...

Isn't it?


	2. Chapter 1

Kai

_Oh my GOD make her shut UP!_

KizuKeru had moved in with us until Cyrus Borg could clear a space for her in his home...

And nearly every night she woke up screaming in terror.

"Gah!"

I threw off my blankets in irritation and sat upright, turning on the light switch with was, thankfully, right next to my bed.

The other four ninja came in grumbling.

"Kizu again?" Lloyd mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

I nodded. "I'm afraid so guys..."

Cole grimaced. "Why can't she just sleep like anyone else?"

Zane tapped him roughly. "Everyone else was probably not beaten within an inch of their life so often as she was..."

Cole winced and bowed his head in shame.

"Well..." Jay began. "We have to...we have to help her through her PTSD somehow. Right? I mean...we can't just leave it alone or ignore it."

I nodded. "Right. Lets go see what's up..."

We all made out way from my room to hers at the very end of the building...and this time it seemed that someone had beat us to her.

When I opened the door I saw a familiar dark face with red eyes cradling her; he wore a black suit and his hood had a silver piece that covered one eye.

"You all may go back to sleep, if you can. I will take care of her."

It was Chīsai, or actually, he was Mindroid, but Chīsai was KizuKeru's nickname for him.

He'd been away at *Borg Industries getting repaired due to his severe mechanical injuries, but now I guess he was back, and we were all happy to comply with his request.

X.X.X

Chīsai

My precious little human was not very secure.

She had severe night terrors and hated to be alone.

Tonight she woke up screaming again. Probably dreaming of her horrible father...

I was glad that I was finally in tune, now I could be there to comfort her.

She leaned into my chest, sobbing quietly now, and I brushed my fingers through her fluffy red hair.

"Shhhhh." I soothed. "It was just a dream, Kizu...just an awful dream."

She whimpered. "I think it's g-g-getting worse..."

I frowned. "What makes you think that?"

She sniffled. "I...I died this time..."

"Oh my..."

"It was awful...I mean...he was hitting me...and he just wouldn't stop and you were just standing there watching...and then you laughed...and you walked out the front door...and left me there...and-"

I shushed her again. "You certainly must know that my leaving you alone with that man would have been unable to compute into my servers, correct?"

She huddled against me, nodding. "Y...yes?"

I smiled behind my mask. "Well then you have nothing to fear."

She was able to calm down and I was pleased, she was not trembling and antsy as she usually was for a while after a nightmare and I was grateful that she was learning to manage or cope with her fears.

"I don't think that the ninja like me very much."

I tipped up her chin so she would look at me. "Now that isn't true, I believe you are very likeable."

She blushed. "Well...I keep waking them up...that can't make them happy..."

I sighed. "They surely understand that it isn't your fault you are waking so loudly. Zane, I know, is very understanding of your needs..."

She bowed her head again. "...I didn't wake you did I?"

"Oh no." I laughed. "I rarely sleep."

She glanced up at me through her eyelashes. "When do you sleep?"

"When I need to recharge."

"When is that?"

I chuckled to myself. Of course it might be obvious that KizuKeru and I are an odd pair of lovers...

And she had quite the fascination with my mechanical anatomy.

Though I had no issue with informing her of every little detail...

Because I was curious about her too.

And curiosity is nothing short of torturous.

"Okay." I said, setting her beside me.

I opened the cavity on my chest to reveal a panel of switches, and I removed that to reveal the plethora of wires connecting it to my body and the red, disk-shaped power source that fueled me.

"This..." I said, pointing to the spinning disk. "Is my kinetic engine. When it spins it creates a static charge from the friction of the outer edge of the disk against the inner groove of its containment cell..."

I directed her attention to a little green light on the opposite side; it was shaped like a tube and was only lit up sixty-two percent of the way.

"And this is where the static electricity is stored. It surprisingly efficient, because static electricity is weak. Though I am a rather large machination, and so I can not function constantly as a kinetic clock can, I usually have to recharge every two to three months."

She was smiling. "You're so neat!" She whispered excitedly. "I wish I could be cool and high tech too..."

I shook my head. "I certainly don't. Then you wouldn't be you anymore. You would be a mass of titanium and aluminum like me."

She laid her head in my shoulder, settling back down as I put myself back together, somewhat embarrassed, to be honest.

"That would probably be a relief...maybe then I wouldn't have these dreams..."

I nuzzled her forehead lightly. "Believe me...you don't have to be human to have bad dreams."

Because I still have visions of murder in my mind...

Of course that wouldn't be a reassuring thing to say to you.

I am not strong for myself...

But I will force myself to be...

For you...

X.X.X

_A.N. - I was thinking about doing chapter dedications..._

_So I guess this one goes to DeliciouslyDangerous1, who's heart "somewhat bleeds MinKizu". XD_

_Also I can only imagine how many Nindroid fans thought that my anatomy description was sexy. XDDDD I know I did. *shot* (Just kidding, just kidding. ;))_


	3. Chapter 2

P.I.X.A.L.

I wished sometimes I had the lack of heart to say the very sight of Mindroid sickened me...

But the reality was that he had been infected just as I had and he was no worse or better than I.

And he was very gentle and sweet toward the newest human.

Which pleased me and my father, Cyrus greatly.

I just wanted to peek in at them, it was quite early and I knew the tiny KizuKeru would be sleeping...

And I would have to be extremely stealthy to assure I didn't capture the attention of the little Mindroid.

They were snuggled together really close, Kizu draped over him like a blanket, and it seemed that Mindroid had booted himself down just for her, just so he could experience the feeling of sleeping in the arms of someone he deeply cared for...

I knew that feeling well...

A tap was sensed on my left shoulder and I turned to see Zane there.

"You're up early..." He said softly. "Checking in on her too?"

I nodded. "Cyrus asked me to assure her safety, even though Mindroid is here for her, one can never be too careful..."

"Indeed."

I turned to him now, capturing his full attention.

"Also I knew you would be awaking soon...I wanted to ask you some questions..."

He smiled at me. "Well of course. I'd be happy to assist you."

I held out one of my hands, and he took it so I could lead him into the main room of the house...

The room farthest from the sleeping residents.

We sat.

"It has come to my knowledge that Your sister, Elena and her husband, Dareth, are seeking to adopt a child." I began. "Is that correct?"

Zane nodded. "Oh yes. Elena loves children, and Dareth too, but Elena isn't quite ready to...make one herself...that is a quote actually...Dareth is a slight lecher, I'm sure you know this?"

"Yes."

Zane chuckled. "But it is true, they are looking to adopt. Why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "Well...since...Kizu's mother has been missing for quite some time and her father is...well...he was wanting to ask if they would adopt her as their own." I rested a hand on Zane's knee. "She does need a proper mother and father to help her thrive. Mindroid is so good for her, I know that, but she needs to be nourished and loved as only parents can for proper cognitive development to occur...if she goes her whole life without feeling this form of...affection she could be psychologically scarred forever..." I sighed. "She is like my cousin...she is just as important to me as she is to Cyrus..." I smiled sheepishly. "Just...could you ask them...please?"

He tipped up my chin and brushed his lips against my metal lips. "You are very sweet. I will comply with your wishes. And I'm sure Elena would be happy to as well..."

_**System malfunction...**_

_Oh wow my engine is spinning too quickly..._

_It's really hot in here._

I laughed awkwardly, removing my hand from his knee now, because I was sure with all the sudden tension I was feeling that I might possibly be breaking it. "T-Thank you." I said in a glitchy tone.

He looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Y-yes...I am fine..."

_I need to cool down..._

"This must be...my form of blushing..."

_**Reboot required!**_

_**Error 837-40.2: Emotional Overload**_

"Oh...that's so cute."

_**Reboot initiated.**_

_Wait no! I don't want to do that._

_**Reboot terminated.**_

I responded to him with a bashful "thank you" instead.

X.X.X

_A.N. - This is dedicated to ANYONE who can understand my psychology crap. XD Also strong supporters of ZaX.A.L. such as Zane's Girlfriend...uh...(sorry guys I have the list but I forgot...) Well everyone on that list. (Except for I because I am the one writing this junk.) *shot because robot jokes and slander*_


	4. Chapter 3

Zane

She lived just across the street so going to confront her was no hassle of mine. She was an early-bird too, our minds were nearly always exactly in sync.

I knocked on the glass front door to the studio and she came down the steps immediately, smiling when she saw me through the pane.

She opened the door, exiting and standing before me.

"Zane!" She cooed excitedly, taking my face in her hands and pulling me down so she could kiss my forehead. "So good to see you."

I chuckled. "Why thank you. Still have the habit of touching people's faces, I see?"

She turned just the slightest bit pink and retracted her hands.

"Yes...I'm sorry..."

She used to be blind, so she would often listen to people's voices to tell who they are, but she had a way to identify who was around her if they couldn't speak, and it would be by the way they felt. Though she only did this a few times because she only wanted to know the features of her friends lest she regain her sight once again...

And now she has.

"No no, dear sister, it is fine, I just pray you don't do that to strangers..."

She shook her head. "No..." She pulled me inside her home and made me sit down, and over the built in speakers I could hear Alice's music playing softly.

"Dareth and I have started frequenting the orphanage ...oh my goodness there are so many adorable little angels. There was this sweet little red haired girl there, she is the greatest, you have to come with me today to meet them all."

"Oh my..." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. "Children don't take to me well..."

She pouted. "But that isn't true, from my encounters I recall children love you."

"But Cole knows how to handle them better...perhaps you should take him, I would probably embarrass you."

She took my hands. "I don't want to take Cole, he is my friend and I respect that, but he is not my brother...family is first."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't say no to her. "I will go...but...I hope they don't have universal remotes..."

She laughed.

_Oh boy...now I'm in a fix..._

_She's already going to look for children..._

_How will I ask her now?_

X.X.X

Elena

"Elena!"

The children of the orphanage were all very eager to see us arrive.

They all reached for me smiling and waving.

I shooed them back. "Hello everyone!" I greeted, shaking all of their tiny hands. "How have you been doing?"

One of the little boys pulled on my skirt lightly. "I lost a tooth yesterday!"

He was speaking with a lisp and it was just the cutest thing.

I smiled at him, rubbing his hair lovingly. "That's great, honey."

I turned to Zane, who was still near the doorway, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"This is my big brother Zane." I said, gesturing to him. "He's a little scared, you all should make him feel nice and welcome."

The children all left my side to stand before Zane, gazing up at him.

Then they all attacked him with their precious greetings of hugs and happy hellos.

I could help but laugh a little as his pale face turned red, something of a rare occurrence in him.

And while he was distracting them all I went to go find my little angel.

She was in her room as always, curled up in her blanket and sucking her thumb. When I enter she looks up at me with her big green eyes.

"Hello, Miku..." I greeted, going to sit by her side. "How are you?"

She took her tiny thumb from her mouth. "I'm okay..."

I ruffled up her hair. "I swear, your mane gets redder and curlier every time I come to see you."

She smiled. "Thank you, ma'am..."

"You're most certainly welcome."

We were silent for a moment.

"Hey...how would you like...to come home with Dareth and I?"

She gazed up at me in disbelief. "Really? But what about all those other kids?"

I picked her up and at her on my lap; she placed her thumb back in her mouth.

"Oh I love every single one of you...but...if you haven't notice I am a little timid...and calm...and I think it would be best if I had a calm child so that somewhat compared to my personality..."

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You mean someone you could get along better with?"

I shook my head. "No, I get along with everyone fairly well...I just feel that, since I'm a first time mother, that a calmer child would help me warm up to the event when I may have a more irritable one..."

"Okay, I get it..." She said, beaming, I would love to go home with you."

I stood, balancing her on my hip. "Well then, let us go." I started to walk. "But my reasoning must be our little secret...okay?"

She beamed. "Okay!"

X.X.X

Zane

These children were almost ruthless in their affections.

They sat me down and included me in their games and they called me "uncle Zane"...as if they already considered Elena her mother.

She came out with a tiny redhead on her hip, and she smiled at me. "I've made my pick...I've filled out what I needed to..."

The kids surrounding me all whined.

"Awwww." One cried. "Why didn't you pick one of us?"

Elena smiled sadly, leaning down to hug the child. "Oh dear, you know I would love to take every last one of you home with me, but I don't have the room in my home...and my husband might not be too keen on my bringing all of you to him..." She winked. "I'll just have to come here and visit you as often as I can...but now I must go."

They all left my side and took turns giving her hugs and after about half an hour of goodbyes we left.

"So...Elena..." I began, realizing how awkward this was about to be. "I know...that you've got what you desired...this child of yours..."

She smiled at me happily. "Oh yes, I'm very glad someone didn't snatch her up before I did." And she nuzzled the little girl's nose.

"I am glad for you..." I stated. "But I have a question to ask you on Professor Borg's behalf..."

"Yes?"

I stopped us, making her face me.

"P.I.X.A.L. brought to my attention that Cyrus desired the scenario in which you adopted KizuKeru and raised her as your daughter...he believes...she needs proper parental figures that are loving and gentle to help her overcome her fears of her father so that she may function better in society..."

She shrugged, looking to her right. "Oh...my...I'm...I'm honored that he would want me to do that for him..." She bowed her head. "Do you think I could handle it? Could Dareth?" She but her lower lip. "And it wouldn't lower his ability to see her would it?"

"Of course it wouldn't..." I cupped her face in my hands. "And I believe that you can do it, and I think it would be excellent for Kizu...she loves you very much."

Elena raised her free hand, covering her mouth bashfully. "I...would be delighted to adopt her." She looked at the curly haired girl in her arms. "Then I would have two angelic little redheads to raise. And you would have a bigger sister."

I expelled a silent sigh of relief. I was so glad that that went over as well as it did...

I would hate to disappoint Cyrus...and P.I.X.A.L. too...and I knew that KizuKeru would be very happy to have a mother again.


	5. Chapter 4

KizuKeru

"Chīsai?"

I gently prodded the robot that laid motionless on my bed.

"Chīsai?"

He did not move, not even in the slightest.

He must've been charging for him not to be responding to me...

Out of curiosity I began to open him up, removing the panel of switches so that I could see how far along he was charged.

He was at about eighty percent...

So I just switched him back on.

He sat up, looking straight ahead.

"Loading boot disk..." He droned.

A soft beeping sound resonated from him for a few shirt moments before he blinked, then looking to me.

"How long have I been powered down?"

I shrugged. "I don't know...you were up last night so I assumed you shut down to charge after I fell asleep..."

He looked down at his opened chest cavity and exposed wires. "Did...you reboot me?"

I nodded guiltily, bowing my head and trying my hardest not to make my blushing too apparent. "Yes...I...got kinda lonely and...well...I'm sorry..."

He hummed, putting himself back together. "It is no issue, I believe I should let you do whatever you please with me...I do belong to you, after all."

Now there was no hiding my flaming red cheeks.

Once he was in one piece he shifted to my side, embracing me gently. "So you know in the future, I consent to whatever you may wish to do."

I hid my face from him, it was burning.

_Did me not understand how perverted he sounded?_

_No..._

_Of course not he was a robot..._

_But..._

_That didn't mean he didn't understand the implications of his words in comparison to human sexuality..._

_I need to stop reading psychology textbooks..._

Knock-Knock

The door opened and a dark haired man rolled in on a wheelchair, eyes covered with one hand.

"I hope I'm not intruding on anything too precious..." He removed his hand, revealing dark brown eyes that always seemed to be smiling at me. "Oh wait...I'll always be intruding on something precious..."

I beamed. "Uncle Cyrus!" I leapt from my perch on the bed and flung myself at him, climbing up onto his lap and hugging him tight.

He made an "oof" noise. "Hello Kizu..." He greeted, messing up my curly hair...which seemed to be the universal gesture of affection towards me. "How are you doing?"

I laid my head against his chest. "I'm doing okay..."

"How are the nightmares...?"

I stayed silent for a moment. "They...they're not getting any better...but Chīsai is helping me a lot..."

Cyrus turned his gaze to Chīsai, smiling at him. "I'm glad he is of assistance." He said.

"Me too..."

He tipped up my chin so I would look into his eyes.

"Kizu, dear, I have something to ask you, and I want you to answer me honestly..."

I nodded. "Of course."

He sighed. "Would you oppose...if Elena said she wanted to adopt you as her daughter?"

This caught me surprise. "Miss Elena...wants to adopt me?" I shrugged. "I don't see why..."

Cyrus chuckled. "Well she thinks you would make a great addition to her family, of course."

I shook my head. "My night terrors would irritate her I'm sure..."

"Not anymore than they would irritate Zane, the are of the same temperament."

"And I would hate to upset Dareth..."

"He wants you too, sweetie. They both would be honored to be your parents..."

I smiled bashfully, blinking hard so I wouldn't cry. "I...I love them both...I can't believe they want to be my parents..."

"Do you want them to be?" He asked softly.

I nodded. "I do..."

He sighed with relief. "Thank goodness...I'm glad. Now I can tell them the great news. I did not want to say yes to them without your consent...you are, after all, nearly an adult..."

I hugged him tightly around the neck. "I'm glad you asked me...but in all honesty...you didn't even need to..."


	6. Chapter 5

General Cryptor

**_Initiating boot protocol..._**

**_Loading boot disk..._**

**_Reboot in 3..2...1..._**

I sat up with a start, not really gasping but something close to it.

My optics darted around, looking at every object within my sight range.

"Where am I?" I asked the wilderness, as if it would actually give me an answer.

_These are the woods just on the outskirts of NinjaGo..._

_Wait though..._

_I...died..._

_The defeat of the Overlord rendered me powerless!_

_Or..._

_Maybe not..._

I stood slowly, peeking around at the trees that loomed above my head.

Then I began to search through my wireless connections for other nindroids.

So many of them had been obliterated, their signal providing only static, but there were a choice few that I could actually get hold on, and thus I could view the world from their eyes, control their movements on occasion, and summon them to me if I desired...

And I certainly did desire...

One particular code caught my interest highly.

**_Unit 00-17264849520_**

_Little Mindroid._

How did he survive and yet so many of the bigger, stronger warrior bots did not?

I was curious...

So I connected to him and what I was seeing made me sick.

"I will ask you until I have an answer, Kizu, which book shall you have me read to you?"

The redheaded girl in my...his sights pouted, crossing her arms. "I won't "have" you do anything. I can read for myself."

"But if I allowed you to do that then how would any bonding be formed?"

She blushed. "You act as if we aren't bonded tightly enough..."

The body I was intruding upon tilted his head down slightly. "Nothing we ever do together will make me want to bond with you any less..."

The tiny human girl covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You are too nice to me..." She whispered.

He sighed. "I could never exceed any level of kindness to you. My affections are boundless."

She scoffed. "Sometimes you are impossible..."

"Impossible to resist maybe..."

Then she laughed. "Oh gosh...since when do you make jokes that make sense?"

The body I resided in chuckled in response. "That was not a joke...but I am pleased to know it amused you..."

Sighing, the girl slipped free from her spot on whatever canvas she sat on and Mindroid followed her gaze as she walked to a bookshelf, soon coming back with an older book in her arms.

"Could you do this one...?" She asked, crawling back into the clothed surface and handing him the book.

I looked down as he did to see the title: _The Silver Star_ by Jeannette Walls.

"This is an excellent read." Mindroid offered, opening the book to the first page. "You may come and lean against me if you wish. I only want the best of comfort for you..."

I retracted myself from his body and broke the link between us.

"That...was disgusting..." I muttered to myself. "How could he even think to associate so kindly with the humans that betrayed us?"

He had to have gone absurd in the short time between his awakening and this point in time...

Maybe his original programming failed where mine has not faltered...

_I need to reinstall the proper software..._

I reluctantly snuck back into his system wirelessly, searching for the proper port to install to...

I could read the text behind my eyes once I had found the right spot: **_Installing Overborg_**

_This would help him come to his senses..._


	7. Chapter 6

Chīsai

I had started to develop a tick in my system...

Just a twitch in my right arm that would bring my shoulder up toward my face.

It was always very brief and no one seemed to notice...

It must've been some sort of nervous reflex...

And I don't mean that literally because I have no nervous system, only in the hypothetical sense.

I lied...

Actually Kizu noticed some times, but then she would take hold my my hand and it would be held at bay for a while.

Still, even though I could manage the error it bothered me immensely...

It couldn't possibly be some sort of virus...

My system was much too advanced to allow something so trivial through.

So it had to be a technical error and I would ask father to fix it for me later.

But for right now her happiness was my number one objective.

"I don't really want to watch TV..." She whispered, nuzzling my arm. "Is it bad that I want you to read to me again?"

I looked to her, completely serious. "I am under your command, nothing you ask of me could ever be bad."

She blushed deep red, something I found to be very endearing. "You are the worst flirt..."

I made a look of contemplation. "Is that what you consider flirting? I was merely stating a truth..."

She shrugged, another physical indication that she was severely embarrassed or flattered. "You are way too sweet to me..."

"On the contrary, I don't believe I could be sweet enough..."

She smiled, gesturing me close to her. "Come here, I want to tell you a secret."

I leaned in close to her. "Yes?"

"No. You aren't close enough."

I leaned a little more. "Are you sure?"

She surprised me by planting a tiny kiss on my masked nose. "Okay, I'm done."

**_Error 837-40.1: Emotional Overload Imminent_**

_Damn error codes... _I thought to myself._ That isn't an issue it's a blessing._

**_Initiating shutdown. Emotions unable to be stabilized._**

_No!_

_Deactivate shutdow-_

_**Shutdown complete.**_

_**...**_

_**Resuming installation of Overborg**_


	8. Chapter 7

Elena

"Spinning out in color...spinning out in color..."

"We're all set to get back on the scene...the whole city is apart at the seams, it's cold...in New NinjaGo..."

I couldn't help but sing along to the song Alice had playing over the speakers... it was by The Fold, memorializing the ninja in their heroic glory...not only was it accurate but the song had a beautiful ambience to it that just entranced your ears while you listened.

I was readying the house...Dareth was too, and even Alice pitched in. Little Miku wanted to help but I wasn't quite ready to let her start doing housework for me...it just didn't seem very nice.

Of course I allowed her the little things such as dusting or maybe putting away the few stray items that there were in my home, but I wasn't going to let her exert herself too much until she felt comfortable being with me.

"Hey babe! I can't find the tape anywhere! How am I going to put this banner up?"

"Is there something else that you can use that may work?" I asked, trying not to yell even though I probably should...

"Well...I see a stapler..." Dareth replied with an almost serious tone.

I let out a tiny gasp. "Oh no, please don't staple the walls!" I cried softly.

He entered the room, carrying the banner in one hand. "You are so gullible." He stated, walking toward me and wrapping me up in a big, bannery, kiss-riddled hug. "But that's okay because the brown ninja will allow such cuteness in his presence."

I sighed, giving in to his antics. "Okay..." Then I bit my lower lip, looking up at him. "Do you think Kizu will like living with us?" I questioned, genuinely worried. "I don't want her to be uncomfortable in any way..."

He smiled. "She's going to love it here." He said surely. "She's going to love you too, maybe she'll surpass my levels."

I blushed lightly, backing away from him. "You are too much sometimes..."

His smiled turned into a goofy grin. "Oh really? Am I too hands-on for you?"

As I was turning to continue my cleaning he, of course, decided it was necessary to give me a little pinch...

I would rather not say where out loud...(but I would assume that you readers already have an idea).

I squeaked, whirling back around and backing myself against the nearest wall. I was in flames now, I was sure...and with my pale skin it was impossible to hide.

"I like that noise you made." Dareth mused aloud, waggling his eyebrows like a dork.

I giggled a little, covering my mouth with my hands. "Y-you can't be doing that when the kids are present..."

He shrugged. "Okay, that just gives me permission to do it other times..."

"Oh goodness..."

A knocking came at the front door, saving me from Dareth's lechery. I rushed to open it and there stood KizuKeru and her mechanical companion Chīsai; Kizu had a large bag of clothes tumbling about in her tiny arms and the droid standing behind her carried a small bookshelf packed full with novels.

I smiled at them. "Oh you two are just the most adorable little couple. But I didn't know Chīsai would me coming with you, otherwise I would have readied him a room."

Kizu shrugged. "We're somewhat of a package deal...but um...we can just share a room..."

"I promise that I will behave." Said Chīsai. "My affections are limited to, as you humans describe it, first-base only, unless, of course, I am instructed I can perform on other levels."

Dareth laughed heartily. "I like that guy. He's welcome to stay wherever he likes...just don't destroy anything..."

Chīsai couldn't decide whether to shake or nod in response. "Yessir, I mean no sir...I mean...I will be on my most optimal behavior."

Footsteps could be heard as I shooed Kizu and her companion inside so I could shut the door. Alice was coming down the stairs to greet her old friend.

"And there she is! My new house-mate!" She walked over to Kizu and lifted her up, spinning her around in a very energetic hug.

Kizu squealed with delight, hooking her arms around Alice's neck. "Hi Alice! How are you?"

Alice shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine..." She set KizuKeru down. "I got you a welcome present."

"Oh..." Kizu replied. "You didn't have to, I mean-"

"I got you a present and you are going to accept it, because you are my friend and I wanted to do something nice, not because I felt obligated." Alice winked. "That sound okay?"

Kizu blushed. "Okay..."

She was given a small box, and timidly she peeled away the paper and opened the box to reveal an MP3 player.

"I couldn't really find a good, reliable music player in the stores...and I know a little bit more about tech than I should...so I headed on down to *Borg Industries and he let me toy around...and that's how this was created. It holds about one-hundred and twenty eight gigabytes of memory; music, pictures, video, apps, anything you want. It's really little though, so you can just stick it in your pocket. It also can play media on any platform with any frame size, so you don't have to do any stupid conversions so that the wma file is compatible or so that avi is the right frame height to be available..."

Kizu was absolutely glowing with happiness. "Thank you!" She exclaimed. "Thank you so much."

Alice rubbed the back of her neck. "No problem...and there is a program too that P.I.X.A.L. helped me create so that you can sync all of your stuff like with iTunes...but I'll let you worry about that later. For now it is pre-loaded with all of the music that I could find on my laptop..."

"Thank you..." Kizu simply repeated.

"Welcome to your new home..." I said softly, going to her and wrapping her up in a big hug. The others followed suit, and when Miku came from another room she wiggled her way in as well.

I could feel KizuKeru's happy tears soaking through my shirt.

Dareth had been right, it seemed.

She was going to love it here.


	9. Chapter 8

Chīsai

The joys that she took in these simple and not so simple melodies was strange to me...

I was not human, (of course this must be obvious by now, I must've mentioned it so many times...), so I did not quite understand what would go through her mind when listening to music, but to see a smile on her face made me happy...

So I guessed I knew somewhat...

It must've been some sort of emotional shadow function for emotions I could quite comprehend...

Or I could just be making things up...

But I strongly believe that if this doesn't exist that Cyrus should invent it.

Definitely.

"Oh and the little gypsy girl is back!" Alice exclaimed while Kizu danced. "Work it girly!"

Alice and KizuKeru had two completely different dancing styles...

Alice's was based on mechanical humanoid beings, she said, and the errors that they may produce. She called it glitch. And similarly there is another type of dance that I have seen while searching my universal database called "dubstep dance", but Alice's "glitch" was much more complex and fitting...given that the left half of her body was nearly entirely b-grade mechanics.

My Kizu, however, was much more fluid in her movements. Where Alice would have these ticks or act in a jerky fashion, Kizu would flow with the music like water in a river, a type of dance that Alice affectionately dubbed "gypsy dance".

I am not certain of how Kizu came across this talent, but when she and Alice danced together a sort of harmony was created, a balance, and they just worked so well in this way.

So they danced before me now to something called "The Fight Within" by an independent music group called Aviators...

And they were making food of some sort...

I wasn't sure if either one of them knew how to cook, it looked like they were just having fun making the huge mess that Elena's kitchen now was.

"So..." I began, speaking out of turn I was sure but I felt awkward just observing. "How did you and Alice meet?"

They looked to each other for a moment, and Kizu turned the music down on her device, and they both came to sit before me.

"Well...dear Mindroid...you know how Kizu's house was in the middle of nowhere? In this expanse of woods outside the city?" Alice asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"I used to live in those woods. I didn't know that Garmadon was my father, Wu my uncle, Misako my mother, Lloyd my brother...you get the gist...and I didn't have anyone, but like hell I was gonna be an orphan in a home, so I ran off to live there...and it was lonely...and it just sucked. I had to hunt and kill and cook my own food and it was always cold at night...but then I found Kizu's house...and it looked run-down to me so I thought no one lived there...but when I sneaked in a window I had a tiny redhead staring back at me. And we became friends. She would bring me food at the expense of being beaten if she was caught, and we would play together quietly whenever her dad passed out drunk...but one day I got arrested for having a party in the woods...my occasional trips into the city made me a few friends and I had a damn party. But the cops showed up and I became associated with the ninja and I just sort of forgot...until you showed up killing people and I saw your little blip in Kizu's house...I had to make sure she was safe..."

_That struck a nerve..._

_Or a wire..._

_Or..._

_Whatever inside me caused emotional toil._

"I would have never hurt her..." I stated. "I still would never..."

_There is that tick again..._

_Damn twitching..._

_It makes me angry..._

_Why won't it just stop..._

_I've been checked so many times to find the issue and there isn't one!_

_So why..._

_Do I..._

_Keep..._

_Glitching..._

Kizu slipped out of her seat beside Alice and planted herself in the one next to mine.

"Oh no...you're twitching again..." She cooed, taking the hand of my affected arm and leaning her head on me.

For a second...

Not even for a second, just a mere fraction...

I was overcome with an unbelievable rage.

_Why is this disgusting thing touching me?_

And then I remembered that this disgusting thing wasn't disgusting or a thing, but the love of my life.

I smiled at her, trying to ignore the awful thought that had passed through my mind seconds earlier. "You always know how to make me feel better." I told her. "It is not a repair...but it is good enough."

She beamed happily, and of course I responded to her accordingly with affections, but I couldn't get that thought out of my system memory.

_Why would I ever even contemplate such an awful accusation?_

_An even more pressing question is why won't I stop twitching like this?_

_It is extremely irritating..._

_What is wrong with me?_

_There has to be something..._


	10. Chapter 9

General Cryptor

He is starting to feel a resentment toward the little one...

That is good...

He clearly has forgotten that humans are a scourge that needs to be dealt with...

I myself have cleansed the earth of plenty of the filthy beings...

And all in the short time since I've reanimated...

I was almost gleeful that I could be awake again to perform my sole duty...

I hate that I was offline for so long...

Rotting away while the humans thrived...

But I am at full power and strong now...

And I can feel the pull of the wireless connections to my brethren grow taut as they draw nearer to me...

Soon I will have a small army together and I will be able to take back the city that is rightfully mine...

Rightfully the Overlord's...

Now if only Mindroid's antivirus software would stop being so resilient...

Then my plans would be nearly flawless.

X.X.X

KizuKeru

Surprisingly Alice had a significant amount of energy...

More than me...

I was exhausted.

We spent the day frolicking around Elena's house listening to music and making a mess...

We cleaned it all of course...

But all of my energy was gone and I was ready to sleep...

But Chīsai offered to read to me and of course he would have been sad if I said no.

Besides we were almost to the end of Silver Star and I guessed I had the strength to stay up for just a little bit longer...

This man in the book was awful...

He was abusive and he drank and he tried to sexually assault this girl...

He wasn't...

Exactly like my father...

But...I was starting to get uneasy when Chīsai would read about him.

It was at the part in the story where the two girls were in court testifying against the man, intending to have him persecuted for sexual assault, but the witness, the person who was driving the taxi, wouldn't testify against the man...

At some point in the chapter, right in the middle of a sentence, Chīsai stopped reading, staring down at the pages for a very long time, and when I looked a little closer I realized that he was shaking, and his fingers were tightly gripping the book, so tightly, in fact, that he was mutilating it and some of the pages were even tearing.

I reached out and touched his arm lightly. "Are you okay?"

He pushed me back. "Don't...don't...touch me..." He said in a frightening tone.

I shrunk back into my pillow, curling around myself. "I'm...sorry..." I whispered.

I must've made him angry somehow. Of course I could understand if he was upset with me then why would he want me to touch him?

My dad was always angry with me...he only ever spoke to me when he felt I needed to be punished...

I sat silently, holding back tears for the longest time, and he never said a word back to me.

Finally, I worked up the courage to ask him: "What did I do?", but when I looked over and saw him, he was slumped forward, he had shut himself down.

So, since he couldn't see, I let myself cry.

It didn't last very long. Only about five minutes. He woke up shortly afterwards and I hoped he wouldn't notice the change in the mood but of course he deemed it his job to know when something wasn't right.

He bowed his head, his shoulders too, in an almost submissive way. "I am sorry about...my hostilities...I have been glitching horribly lately and I was afraid...if you came into contact with me it might have triggered...some sort of reflex...and I didn't want to put you in harms way."

I sniffled. "You...we're afraid you would harm me?"

He lifted his head, looking at me sadly. "I have been twitching...I have, by impulse, struck some of the ninja when they have touched me. I don't know what is wrong...but I wouldn't be worthy of living anymore if I were to strike you..."

I hugged myself, rubbing the upper parts of my arms with my hands. "So...you weren't angry at me?"

"Of course I wasn't." He stated, cupping my face in his hands. "I would never be upset with you. I believe I've mentioned this?"

I nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yes..."

He pulled me into a hug. "I am regretful for making you worry...just the reflexes...are getting worse. I need to get my software checked..."

His hands were cold...

Actually all of him was cold, which was strange since usually he kept himself at a higher temperature so he would be less uncomfortable to lay with at night.

So I told him. "You're cold..."

Actually it was more of a whisper...

He removed himself from my embrace, opening his chest cavity. "That has been an issue too..." He fiddled with the dials and switches, and there was a little section in the bottom right corner of the control pad that looked to be a sort of thermostat. "I keep setting it back to optimum warmth but it keeps resetting..."

He shut his self back up. "There. All fixed." He settled back into his pillow and realized that the book he was reading was now in shreds. "Oh my..." He sighed. "I...I will get a replacement for you. I'm sorry for my damage."

I leaned against him, curling up into a tiny little ball under the crook of his arm. "That's okay...it's only a book...you don't have to."

He wrapped himself around me. "But of course I do. I ruined it...and of course I assume we both want to read of the imminent demise of that awful human..."

I nodded. "Yes! I don't like him..."

"Neither do I...people like that, in my opinion, are not worthy to call themselves humans...simply because humans are not barbaric and animalistic in nature...they have morals...if there is a mental disorder present I understand...but if one just hurts another to see them suffer then..."

He trailed off, then started a new sentence. "I pray you have a restful sleep."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

"It is no trouble."

And as I started to drift into my slumber I could hear him mutter something to himself.

"My god what is wrong with me...?"


	11. Chapter 10

KizuKeru

_Its cold..._

_So cold..._

I rolled over under the covers, flinging out my arms to search for something warm.

They hit the pillows...

And the sheets...

I whimpered as I was still trying to muddle out of slumber...

Something warm touched my forehead and I sat up, leaning into the glorious comfort...

"Good morning." She greeted.

I looked up with sleepy eyes at Elena, who was smiling down at me. Another girl crawled out from behind her, waving a hand toward my face, beaming.

"Hiiii!" She sung.

I hummed softly. "Hello..."

Elena ran her fingers through my curly hair. "I just wanted to see how my other little angel was doing."

The littler one, my little sister Miku, who I haven't seen until now, scrambled over to me and started to pull at my curls carefully.

"Your hair is just like mine!" She looked in my eyes. "But your eyes are green. Mine are blue! We look just like sisters!"

I managed a weak smile. "Yeah we do don't we...?"

She nodded. "Yeah! Mom and dad don't really look like us, but that's okay!" And she wiggled her way under Elena's arm and curled wrapped her arms around my waist.

I hummed again, looking back to the ruffled space next to where I had been.

"Where is Chīsai?" I asked.

"Oh..." Elena began. "He went to your Uncle Cyrus, sweetie, so he can get a checkup on his systems...he seems worried for his health as well as yours..."

"Okay..."

X.X.X

Cyrus Borg

"Well, Mindroid, it seems to be that there is nothing at fault with you."

He shook his head, interlacing his fingers in concentration. "But...that can't be true. I've been irritable, I've lashed out." He looked up at me, his expression extremely distraught. "I've hurt them..."

I shrugged, rolling out from behind my desk so that I could be face to face with him. "You may be compressing your anger. Most of my androids do have faulty emotional control centers, and I they do not portray their emotions properly then it may come out as one big burst."

He nodded, slowly. "Alright...forgive me for my troubles..."

I smiled, adjusting my glasses. "Oh, it is no trouble. I see to plenty of my machines. Though, I must admit...not many of my machines have a soul such as you do."

Silence.

"Tell me." I rejoined. "How is my niece faring?"

He smiled then, I could tell by the little crease that formed in the corner of his red eyes.

"Her nightmares have nearly ceased...the ones she does wake during only invoke weak whimpering in her and she is easily calmed now."

I chuckled. "Very good. You are so good to her. It is strange to think that a machine could care so much for a human. It was strange in P.I.X.A.L. but it is stranger in you, considering-"

"I...was infected with a virus...my judgment about the beauty of humanity...was compromised by the greed and bloodlust of the Overlord..." He sighed. "But that is over now...flushed from my systems. And I would do anything to protect you, and the ninja, my mechanical brethren...and especially Kizu...I would do anything for her..."

"So...I assume it is safe to say you love her very much."

"More than you could fathom." He touched the area of his chest where his engine resided. "It almost aches. I cannot feel...and yet I can..." He looked up at me again. "I like to feel, sir...it is nice that, somehow, I can associate myself with the most perfect aspect of humanity...that I can emote and care and have feelings toward another being..." His hand dropped. "But I came to you...because I think I am losing my sense of humanity...I fear that I may be losing my soul..."

I frowned, adjusting my glasses once again. "Why is this so."

He let out a noise that sounded like somewhat of a sob. "Because...I'm just so angry at everything...everyone...I had to shut myself down for fear that I would direct anger to the most important thing to me."

He buried his face in his hands, leaning forward that it seemed he would fall over.

"I don't know what's wrong with me."

I rolled myself over to him, taking one of his hands away from his face. "There is nothing wrong with you, son...machines do tend to have errors...programming malfunctions...I could easily adjust your emotional protocol so that anger is less likely to be invoked." I chuckled. "It is perfectly normal. Some androids are just more irritable than others. You aren't much different from us at all really."

He was silent for a second, and then he leaned down to hug me.

"Thank you, sir..." And he leaned back upright. "Also um...I've been having an issue with my thermostat. It keeps turning down back to fifty-two-point-three degrees and Kizu likes me to be warm..."

I grinned. "I can fix you up. No problem at all."

"Thank you..."


	12. Chapter 11

Chīsai

I wanted to observe.

I hated the idea of disturbing their peace.

Zane, P.I.X.A.L., Alice, and my KizuKeru were all in Elena's kitchen when I arrived, and they were making a dessert of some sort, according to my olfactory sensors.

Zane seemed to be the only one taking the situation seriously.

"My goodness you two are atrocious." He said. "Very messy."

Alice sniggered and flicked some creamy yellowish goo at him, and it landed on his face.

"Being messy is half the fun of cooking!" She exclaimed. "Plus, you know you would just love it if P.I.X.A.L. could lick that off of your face."

P.I.X.A.L. gawked and Kizu giggled.

"That is inappropriate..." Murmured P.I.X.A.L. "And even if I were able to do so I would not, simply because it is unsanitary and un-ladylike."

Zane laid his head down on one hand, chuckling to himself.

"Every last one of you is insane..."

He turned to me. "Please tell me you can provide some sanity for this recipe, Mindroid?"

I pointed to myself, confused. "Me?"

"Yes. Perhaps you could come over here and provide some sanity?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Even though I had no idea of what he was talking about.

He held out an apron to me. "You will most likely need this..."

I took it graciously. "Thank you."

I felt a hand take mine from behind and I didn't have to look to know it was Kizu, but I turned to her anyway for the sake of seeing her beautiful green eyes...

"Are you feeling better now?" She asked quietly. "Elena told me you went to get a checkup from Cyrus..."

I nodded, smiling. "I am much better thank you." I told her, removing my mask and tucking it away for clean keeping. "You will not see anger in me anytime soon." And I leaned close to her to give her a kiss on the lips; a human gesture like so many others that I use but it provides bliss for her and I and so I am willing to subject myself to it.

She blushes mightily, hugging my chest and hiding her face in the bend of my shoulder.

"You are too precious." I say.

"You're really warm..." She says back, taking a deep breath and sighing. "It was so cold this morning."

"I pray you forgive me." I stated, backing away slightly. "I needed the repairs though."

She smiled. "Of course I forgive you..."

Alice scoffed then. "You two are so damn cute. Your little conversations..."

She knelt down and wrapped us both up in a tight squeeze. "It's so sweet. Sometimes I wish Cole would be sweet...but he's just cocky and good in bed."

Kizu's body temperature raised about three degrees and at a glance I could see she was almost completely red.

"A-Alice, that's not something I want to know about..."

Alice snorted. "And you're so innocent." She looked to me. "Unless there is something you aren't telling us, Mindroid..."

"I would be willing to satisfy any desires that KizuKeru may have." I began. "But only with her explicit consent. Otherwise I would perform no actions in the likeness of which you are suggesting."

And you would think that a human blushing couldn't be radioactive but I was starting to think that hers was.

Alice finally let us go. "Okay. Okay I'm done teasing you." She turned to Zane. "So are we going to finish this cheesecake now?"

He grinned. "Perhaps we could if you may stop being so easily distracted."

She shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry...NOT!"

Zane rolled his eyes jokingly. "Alright then. I need eggs...because despite how good the mixture tastes, it is incomplete..."

Kizu waved her hand. "I'll get them."

Oh the chaos that I participate in is positively gleeful. Seeing the smiled on everyone's face as they made their messes and cleaned them and partook of the fruits of their merry labors proved their happiness to be very contagious.

And this was a virus I was very willing to receive.

I myself was not much help other than to retrieve items, for I was not able to see the recipe book, but just being able to interact with them made me feel like I was actually part of something, and not just a branch that was included as a package with Kizu.

I felt that maybe, despite all of the horrible things that I had done to them and others...that they were finally starting to accept me into their family...


	13. Chapter 12

Zane

She was beautiful.

I found myself staring without really being able to help myself.

She glanced back at me from time to time, looking a little nervous.

Neither one of us were watching the movie I had put in.

She turned to me. "Is there something smudged on me?" She asked, sounding worried. "Perhaps some...of that mixture you were making before?"

I chuckled, bowing my head just slightly. "Oh. No. Sorry I just...like...looking at you."

Her look of distress changed to one of surprise. "Oh...I see." And she smiled. "I am glad I am pleasing to look at."

The back of my neck prickled, a common reaction to my feelings toward her, paired with blushing, I felt as though Kai had set me on fire.

"Forgive me for being so awkward." I said. "Even after all this time...I...still don't know how to act with a girl..."

"It is fine." P.I.X.A.L. replied. "I don't know how to act with a male. Of course, if I had more experience..."

"Indeed..."

"And...perhaps...a nervous system would help...so that I could know how to physically react..."

That was odd of her to say, and it was the first time I'd heard her say anything similar.

She then took my hand.

"Zane. Tell me, and please do be honest..." She would not look me in the eyes, and she appeared distressed once again. "Have you...ever wished that maybe...I could be human...?"

I didn't really know how to respond, so I pondered over her question a moment, remaining silent.

"I...I have listened to Mindroid say how he wished he could be human for Kizu...because if he were human, he would be able to...understand her better..." She gazed up at me, and she looked sad now. "Zane...I can be human if you want me to be. Cyrus...he has the ability to...to make me whatever you want me to be."

_She is insecure..._

"I just want to know what you truly think."

I offered her a smile, and I lifted my free hand so that I could touch her face. "Is this why you have been so distraught lately? Because you think...I don't love you for who you are?"

"It is very difficult to believe someone...so perfect...could love a hunk of metal such as I."

I sighed, pulling her close to me. "You are not just a "hunk of metal"." I told her. "You are more unique than that. You have artificial intelligence, you can process thoughts like no other being can."

She pushed back from me. "That is not what I worry about. "Artificial" is the word I am stressing. Don't you ever want something...someone that is warm and pleasant to hold close? Someone that can comprehend your body language and your expressions more thoroughly?"

I took her face in my hands, looking into her stunning green eyes. "I don't know what makes you think I want anything other than you. But your thoughts are silly, and I think you should erase them quickly."

"But..." She whispered. "I...don't think I am worthy..."

I thought for a moment. "Your goal here...or...at least your wish...is to be able to feel for me how I feel for you?"

She nodded. "Of course my emotions toward you are none less than extreme...but I do not portray it very well...as a human would..."

I took my hands from her cheeks and I pressed the nearly invisible button on her chest, a button that opened the compartment on her chest.

She made a strange noise, one of slight exasperation, and she covered herself.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice barely changing an octave, but it was clear she felt violated.

"I am trying to assist. I was built with a sensory mirror function...so that...when m father re-built me, I could feel what others physically felt...and the sensory input I recorded was stored and my nerves would know how to react...if you were modeled to be similar to me...them perhaps you have the function too...and if I turn it on you will be able to feel as I do."

Reluctantly, she uncovered herself, and I could access the wires and dials and other components on the inside of her chest.

"Okay...none of this looks very familiar to me...so...you must be arranged differently..." I tried to adjust a few things, through trial and error I realized that some things did nothing, while others caused electrical discomfort, and finally I came down to the last few things residing within her when she cried out.

"Ow!" She exclaimed.

I leapt back in shock.

"Goodness! I'm sorry, P.I.X.A.L., I..."

And then I realized I did something right.

"You can close yourself now, I think I've fixed you."

She did so, looking confused. "I don't really feel different..."

I replaced myself by her side, taking one of her hands and gently pressing my lips to it.

"Do you feel different now?"

She raised her free hand, covering her mouth and looking away; I could tell she was smiling.

"So it worked...?"

She nodded.

"I pray you won't think those ridiculous thoughts now?"

She leaned into my side. "I don't believe so, no."

"Good." I mumbled. "Because sadness and doubt are the worst of emotions...next to anger...I want you to always be happy..."

She laughed, it almost sounded like a giggle. "I...I am happy." She told me. "I am."

"Excellent."

X.X.X

_A.N. - Okay bbs, I want to ask a serious question...how do I do writing the character's personalities? I want an honest opinion. It can be in a review or a PM...but I want to know if I am accurate enough._


	14. Chapter 13

Mindroid

She was so easily tired.

As soon as the days events had concludes she nearly crawled to her room and seemingly fell into a coma.

The others kept me around for a little longer, chatting with me, making me feel like one of them. But I didn't really want to chat.

Of course I greatly appreciated their kindness...but I was not programmed for their entertainment...

So at the optimal opportunity I snuck away.

KizuKeru didn't even bother to tuck the blanket around herself, she sprawled on top laying on her back, hair astray because she tossed and turned in her slumber and her pillow happened to enjoy making her hair a tangly mess.

I quietly snuck beside her and tried to untangle her mane, being careful not to wake her.

She hummed and reached out, pushing on my face.

"What are you doing..." She mumbled, barely opening her eyes and squinting at me.

I smiled sheepishly. "I am fixing your hair, it is matted."

She huffed, taking her hand from my face. "Oh..."

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"S'okay..."

"I could stop if you want to rest some more..."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "No it's fine..." She yawned. "It's only three something anyway..."

I settled into the spot beside her. "Would you like me to read to you?"

She shook her head. "No...I just want to relax..."

"You can relax as long as you wish..."

She sighed, scooting herself close to me and draping herself against my chest. She was in a snuggly mood and I was of course happy to comply with her desires...

But then something strange started to happen to me.

I started to hear a strange ringing in my ears, and static rimmed the periphery of my vision.

And I just...

Lost control.

I wasn't me...

Or was I me.

I looked down at the thing laying on me, and I furrowed my eyebrows angrily.

_Why are you touching me?_

She shifted just slightly, seeming ready to doze back off.

_You..._

_You...!_

I raised my arm and knocked her back, rather violently, and when she was away from my reared my arm back and gave her a proper strike across her face.

"Don't you touch me, you filthy thing!"

She held her face, eyes wide, whimpering, I could see tears starting to brim.

The static faded, and the ringing stopped...

And I realized what I had just done.

"K...Kizu...?"

She stared at me, releasing short, shuddery bursts of breath.

"Kizu I..." I reached for her. "I..."

She cringed, leaning away from my hand.

"I..."

She started to wail softly, her face was wet now, because the water welling finally had pooled too much and was ready to spill...

I grew furious yet again...

With myself.

_Why would I do that?_

_Why would I EVER do that...?_

_Why..._

I stood...

And I left the house...

I couldn't stay there any longer.

There was something wrong with me...

_I would never hurt her..._

_So..._

_Something had to be wrong..._

_Right?_

I rushed as far away from that place as I could possibly go.

But I wasn't paying attention to where I was going...

Anywhere but back where I could strike her again.

After a long while of running away I ran into something and was knocked to the ground.

"So, it seems you have finally come to your senses..."

I looked up...

And General Cryptor stood above me, noticeably grinning.

"No..."

"Finally you are starting to regain your proper logic..."

"NO!"

He extended his hand down to me. "You can't go back to her. You and I both know...join me..."

I bowed my head, gritting my teeth in pure hatred for myself.

"She would never forgive you for that..."

A pause.

"But I will..."


	15. Chapter 14

Elena

I was exhausted.

Believe me, there is, surprisingly, such a thing as too much fun when it comes to the ninja.

I was relaxing on my couch with Dareth, who held me close.

"You are quite the adventurous girl." He teased. "Maybe when I take you out it should be to a more rambunctious place..."

I hummed softly, shaking my head. "No...can you imagine how boring I would be...after such a short time...and there are strangers..."

He winked. "Oh well...then maybe is just have to give you a few drinks first!"

"Oh no, I don't-"

Mid-sentence I heard the shuffling of feet behind me. I turned to see Kizu standing in the entryway...

Crying with her face hidden in her hands.

She sniffled, whimpering quietly. "M...mommy..."

My heart broke.

"Oh sweetie..." I stood, rushing to her side and embracing her tight. "Kizu, what's the matter?"

She lowered her hands timidly, she was shaking.

And my god her face was turning blue on the right side.

"What happened!?"

She bowed her head very low, chin to chest. "Chīsai hit me..." She whispered.

"What?" I sat on the floor, pulling the tiny girl into my lap. "He hit you...why?"

She shook her head. "I-I-I don't know...he called me filthy..."

Dareth stood next, grimacing angrily. "That little shit..." He approached us. "Where is he now? I'll dismember him myself."

"I don't know...he ran away after..."

"DAMNIT!"

Miku came out then, hugging a small teddy bear. "Why is everyone yelling...?"

Dareth sighed, picking her up and balancing her on his him. "Sorry, kiddo, I just got angry about Kizu's little boyfriend..."

"I don't know what I did...but it had to be something bad...I had to have deserved-"

"No!" I exclaimed. "None of that talk. You didn't deserve to get hit. Not by him. Not by anyone, you understand?"

She sniffled again, wiping at her bruised eye, then cringing, because it had to hurt terribly. "Yes ma'am...she said."

I brought her closer, kissing her forehead.

"Something had to have been wrong with him sweetie...some sort of...glitch, a malfunction...he loves you..."

KizuKeru hugged me back now. "I know...I know...I...I'm just...scared..."

"You don't have to be afraid, we won't let anything bad happen..."

Dareth huffed, setting Miku down and crossing his arms. "Better be a DAMN good reason why I shouldn't hope that puny hunk of metal shouldn't melt in hell..."


	16. Chapter 15

Mindroid

_I need to get help._

_I need to get help now!_

_I can't return to Kizu again until this problem has been resolved._

_Why would I do that!?_

"Cyrus! Sir?"

I entered his corporation and flitted about, searching every room on every level until I reached his office...where I guess I should have assumed he'd been all along...

"Oh, hello Mindroid, how are you?" He asked kindly, rolling from behind his desk.

I shook my head. "Not too terribly great..."

"Oh I'm sorry...what about Kizu? How has she been faring in her new home?"

The guilt felt like a ball of lead melting into my systems and weighing down my mechanics so that they were falling down into my abdomen.

"She was thriving well...but...I...I've done something terrible..."

His carefree demeanor instantly changed. "How terrible...?"

I cleared my throat. "I...I'm sorry sir, I...I struck her..."

He looked as if he couldn't tell whether or not to be angry at me.

"W...why?"

I made a noise, one slightly similar to the one KizuKeru made when she cried. "I don't know, sir..."

He gestured to me. "Come here, son."

I cleared my throat again any approached him, looking up into his framed eyes...

And he gave me a good smack on the head.

"What on earth were you thinking!?"

"I wasn't thinking. It's strange, my anger just...swelled. And...something happened...I fizzled out...I wasn't me for a moment...and when I came back to she was crying and she was cringing away from me..."

He sighed. "Until I can figure out what is wrong with you...you are not to go near her."

"Yes, sir."

"Leave me while I think this through, if you please..."

"Yes sir...I'm sorry sir..."

X.X.X

_I want you to retrieve the little one..._

_No..._

_Cyrus told me not to go near her and I will not._

_Not that brat, the other brat, the smaller one..._

_Wh...why?_

_You will see in good time..._

_If you do not obey me...I will be forced to take control of you and do it myself._

He made me do terrible things when he was in control...

So I had to obey...

I made a few short beeping noises and entered the studio before me stealthily, sneaking to Miku's room and taking her from her bed, then taking her from her home and into the woods where Cryptor awaited my arrival.

She slept like a baby the whole time...

Of course she was little more than a baby...

Cryptor grinned behind his mask, taking the girl from me.

"Adorable bit a filth, don't you agree?" He asked, cradling her for a second before handing her back.

"She is not filth..." I stated venomously.

"She is filth...and you will do my bidding...kill her."

I stared at him, furious. "No!" I shouted, waking the poor girl up.

She started to cry.

"Oh no no no, shhhhhh." I cooed, trying to get her to sleep again.

"MOMMYYYYYY!" She wailed.

"Oh stop that blasted siren!"

Cryptor took the girl from me for a final time...

Taking out a short handled scythe and slicing her throat with it.

I chocked, needing to purge my imaginary stomach of contents that did not exist...

I had forgotten how much humans bleed...

"No...Miku..."

_No..._

_No..._

_NO!_

_NOOOOOO!_

**Initiate shutdown, emotional levels dangerously high**

**Shutdown complete.**

**install of Overborg complete...**


	17. Chapter 16

Elena

Miku had gone missing.

She was adventurous little child and it would not surprise me if she had wandered away for a little while...

But there was a difference between her wandering and this...

When she wandered she always came back...

But she had been gone a couple of days and so the ninja ever so kindly started a search for me.

They told me I should stay home with Kizu and Dareth and I should keep her safe.

The wait was agonizing.

Where did my little baby go?

It was a terrible question for me to have to ask myself but I found myself going through every possible answer in my head.

Where did my little baby go...?

X.X.X

Zane

"I'm not having any luck. What about you guys?"

"Nope!"

"Nothing."

"Zip."

"Negative." I replied to Jay's comment. We had been scouring the city for Miku Julien for hours now and she was nowhere to be found.

We were reaching the outskirts...

And still nothing.

Not a hair from her head.

It was as if she had simply vanished off of the face of the earth.

But how is that even possible.

A messy little girl has to leave some sort of evidence behind!

I was getting to the point where I was ready to conclude the search for today, but as soon as the buildings ended and the forest began, Cole found something.

"Zane..." He said, his voice thick. "I may have found her..."

I went to where he was crouched and he pointed down at a barely recognizable mass...

At first it looked similar to an animal's afterbirth...

But when I looked closer I saw her face...

And her hair that was a slightly different shade than the blood that soaked her head to toe.

"Oh..."

I could feel something come up into my throat and I rushed away so that I could vomit.

Why did something like this always have to happen to us?

I've seen plenty of terrible things but everyone always seemed to be out to get our close and personal family.

I returned to my mutilated niece's side, crouching down and lifting her from the dirt.

Her neck was cut down to the bone, and when I lifted her it folded nearly in half like a hinge.

And a little more ichor dripped free.

A single tear fell from my eye. "Miku..."

The other three approached us, seeing the carnage before us.

"Oh Zane..." Kai nearly whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder. "How are you going to tell Elena...?"

I turned to Cole. "What evidence did you find here?" I asked. "Any possibility of apprehending a suspect now or soon?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "Nothing on the ground...on her...nothing..."

I removed my jacket, freezing it into a sheet of ice.

"Kai, come melt this please." He did, and I used the wet, warm fabric to methodically clean the blood and dirt from the child's body. "She has to know...but I can't have her see Miku this way..."

I not-so-subtly choked back a sob as I cleansed this innocent being of someone else's sin. And when she was finished being cleaned I removed her filthy cloths, rubbed free whatever debris was left, and took off my shirt too, giving it to her...

So she could be warm...

I held her close to me and stood. "Let us go..."

X.X.X

Elena

I hated this waiting game...

And hate is a strong word for me to be using with anything.

I love life.

I love people.

I've never hated anything in my life...

But this...

I truly, undeniably, HATED this.

Dareth had his arm around my shoulder, the other on my knee, rubbing lightly to try and ease my ever-climbing stress.

Kizu was snuggled into my side, very still and silent.

She hated this waiting game too...

There came a knock at the door and I immediately rush to it, opening it to see Zane, shirtless, carrying a tiny white bundle.

"Cole found her..." He said.

I almost smiled, she looked as if she was sleeping peacefully in his strong arms.

But his face told me otherwise.

"Let me see..." I said reluctantly.

He pulled back some of the fabric that encompassed her, revealing her face, and then her neck...

Oh god her neck...

It felt as if someone had just torn my heart from my chest...

But I was in hell and so I wasn't able to bleed to death and end the suffering.

I grew shaky, and I fell to my knees, covering my mouth with my hand and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Elena..." Zane murmured, though I could barely hear him over myself. "She is still appropriate for burial..."

I coughed pathetically, leaning over until I was laying on the floor.

"Elena..."

I looked up at him, vision bleary from my tears. "My baby..."

"When do you want the funeral to be held...?" He asked.


	18. Chapter 17

KizuKeru

Elena was heart-broken.

She had been going to see Miku at the orphanage for nearly a year.

She loved her so much...

I barely knew Miku but it was still sad to see her dead...

I'd never attended a funeral before...

It...

Was a little scary...

But now I was home and in my room,

Trying to enjoy the cozy warmth of my blankets but truly not feeling anything but heartache.

Miku was gone...

Chīsai was gone...

I might as well be gone too...

...

I heard shifting in my room...

Behind me.

I turned to look but immediately I found someone on top of me, my mouth was covered, I was pinned, and staring down at me was the Mindroid himself, looking very disheveled.

"Chīsai!" I mumbled through his hand.

"Please do not yell, I-" I seemed to seize for a moment, arching his back and releasing a noise of quiet yet bitter agony. "I am not here to hurt you. I need your help."

I nodded.

Of course I would help him.

Of course...

He removed his hand from my mouth and removed himself from me, crouching beside me on top of the sheets.

"Kizu I need you to know something."

"Yes?"

"That...that moment when I struck you...it was not me, you know that?"

...

"Oh your face..." He said softly, lightly touching the bruise. "I am so sorry..."

...

"Cryptor is alive. And he...he's installed something..." He retched in pain again. "It hurts to block it manually...I don't have much time. He...killed your sister. He's killed others...he has an army forming...he is the control center...if he is discontinued then the other bots will cease ability to function."

I was very concerned. Something seemed to be tearing him apart from the inside.

"Chīsai...?" I whispered, putting my hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

He looked up at me, his red eyes aflame and his masked expression portraying terror and sadness and pain.

"There is a virus..."

He cupped my face in his hands, choking slightly. "I love you, Kizu. You are my purpose for existing. You are my primary objective..." He cried out. "I need you to boot me down. I cannot be rebooted by a wireless external device...it has to be manual...when you boot me down, you need to take me to Cyrus...and...tell him before he reboots me...to bar me down so I do not hurt anyone..."

"Chī-"

"KIZU BOOT ME DOWN! You are not safe!" He yelled. "No one is safe...please..."

I hugged him tightly, causing him to tense dramatically.

"I love you too..."

I opened the cavity on his chest...found the kinetic engine...

And switched it off.

Chīsai fell backwards onto my floor with a loud thud, despite the carpet.

"Oh no." I retrieved him from the floor, cradling him against my chest.

He was limp, it was like he was dead. And his eyes were now grey, still open, because the red optic lights that powered his vision were no longer shining.

"I knew something was wrong..." I told his lifeless form. "I knew you would never intentionally hurt me..."

I planted a tiny kiss on his masked forehead, exhaling a shuddery breath.

"You'll be better soon...I promise..."


	19. Chapter 18

Kai

"Hey...Zane?"

He was wearing black for the first time I had ever seen since we had known each other.

It suited him in an odd way...

And it was the type of odd that no one enjoyed.

"Yes?" He replied to me softly, monotonous and yet melancholy.

"Do...you still have the jacket...you know..."

"Yes I still have it...I was planning to wash it soon..."

"You should bring it to me...I found a chemical detection kit..."

Sighing, he went to retrieve his blood and dirt stained white zip-up, handing it to me morosely.

I pulled out the kit and started swabbing, dabbing my different swabs on different areas on the tab.

"Blood...blood...saliva...blood..."

"What is it Kai?" Cole asked.

"Yeah. Why are you all silent?" Jay implored.

"Guys..." I breathed. "Motor oil...lubricant..."

Zane's jaw dropped just barely. "No..."

"You don't think..." Lloyd began. "It was Mindroid do you?"

"He...he wouldn't...he wouldn't start that again!" Zane exclaimed. "He was cleared of homicidal programming years ago..."

"But what if he wasn't?" I asked. "What if...it came back..."

The doorbell rang and I went to answer the door, standing below me was Kizu, carrying an unconscious Mindroid in her arms.

"He said he had a virus!" She exclaimed, trying to defend him. "He said someone named Cryptor installed it on him. And that Cryptor killed Miku, and he has an army coming, and and-! We need to take him to Cyrus! Cyrus can fix him!"

We all stared at the little girl.

She couldn't possibly be speaking the truth.

"Please! You have to help me!"

Could she?


	20. Chapter 19

KizuKeru

The ninjas took me to Cyrus's building right away...

I'd only been there a couple of times and so I often forgot how immense the size of it was.

We entered the front revolving door hurriedly, I still carried Chīsai in my arms because I did not trust what the others would do with him if they had control...

Cyrus greeted us in the lobby, smiling. "Oh, why hello my friends. How are all of you?"

I stepped forward, holding Chīsai to him. "He needs your help..."

His smile faded into a frown. "I told him not to go near you until I had him fixed..."

"He didn't hurt me I promise. He...had me boot him down...and he told me...when you reboot him make sure he is bound tightly..."

My uncle glanced at me, fixing his glasses. "Now why is that?"

"So...so he won't hurt someone when he wakes up...I assume..."

He let out a bitter sigh. "Follow me, friends. Quickly. Let us see how dire this situation is..."

He rolled over to the elevator, pressing the "up" button, and we all followed, riding up all of the stories of the building to his main office where all of his best tech equipment resided.

"A-alright Kizu, there is a chair over there..." Cyrus pointed over to the wall nearest the door, there was a chair there...

It had metal cuff restraints on the arms and legs.

"That should suffice in keeping Mindroid subdued."

Reluctantly, I took Chīsai to the damning chair, strapping him in at the wrists and ankles. "He is in, Uncle."

"Okay...switch him on for me, if you please."

Even more reluctantly, I opened his chest cavity and switched on his kinetic engine.

He booted up, staring straight ahead for a moment while his programs started.

Then he looked at me...

And narrowed his red eyes angrily at me...

And he hissed, leaning forward to me with such violent force that I was knocked to the floor.

He struggled furiously, trying to wrench free from the chair that bound him...

Trying to attack me.

He beeped and glitched and hissed and I grew teary looking at his awful behavior.

He was not unlike a rabid animal...

"Oh...my..." Cyrus came to my side, helping me upright. "He is much worse than I had anticipated..."

I sniffled, bravely wiping my eyes. "I know...he said it hurt to hold back the virus..."

He looked to me. "Virus?"

"He said someone named Cryptor installed a virus..."

"Oh no."

Cyrus went to his computer and started to link himself to Chīsai, while I approached him carefully, putting my arms around him.

He struggled against me, angrily beeping and hissing, but then suddenly he stopped, shaking terribly.

"K-K-Kizu...?"

I leaned back, smiling at the droid. "Hello."

"I am glad you are well." He said painfully, obviously straining very hard against the virus. "I pray I will be better soon?" He asked.

I smiled, nodding. "Cyrus is trying to fix you as we speak." I told him.

He leaned back in the chair, tense, nervous, I climbed up onto his lap and curled into his chest.

"Kizu...it isn't safe..."

"I'm well aware what is and isn't safe..."

He made a heartbreaking noise and I just embraced him tightly, hiding my face in his cold metal chest.

"I would never forgive myself if I hurt you again...the first time...was unexpected...but this is preventable."

He seemed to seize in the chair, crying out in pure agony as the virus tried to take him back over.

I held his face in my hands. "It's okay." I told him. "You're going to be okay."

He looked at me, deeply melancholic. "Kizu...I am afraid...I might never be alright again..."

"KizuKeru!" Cyrus called. "Open up his chest again, down to the kinetic engine, there is a switch with no label somewhere in there, I need you to flip it."

I reluctantly obeyed, opening Chīsai up carefully, clearly he was hurting and I didn't want to cause discomfort, he watched me, his eyes were sad and yet...

There was content there...

I flipped the switch...

Chīsai relaxed just a little bit, and I looked up at him with a hopeful smile.

I could see he was smiling too...but...not how I thought he should be.

"KizuKeru..." He whispered. "I..."

He shutdown, falling limp and lifeless, eyes grey, then he sat rigid and his eyes were now green.

**_Initiating factory reset..._**

My eyes widened in horror, what did I just do.

"Uncle! Uncle! What did I do? What did I do? Make it stop!"

Cyrus sighed from across the room, approaching us. "No...you've done the right thing..."

I looked back at him, vision blurry and my eyes stinging terribly.

"I've made a copy of his programming and his memory...I am going to try to find the virus you say he has and destroy it...but...it is highly unlikely that I will be able to do so..."

I looked back at the rebooting Mindroid. "No..." I hugged chest tightly once again.

He was even colder now.

"No..."

I wailed all of my pain and my heartache and sorrow into that little robot's chest.

He could no longer see or hear me or even acknowledge my sadness.

I wanted so desperately for this to be some sort of awful, cruel prank.

Surprise! You didn't just erase the entire memory of the love of your life.

But this was too good to be true.

_**Factory reset complete...**_


	21. Chapter 20

KizuKeru

The sadness was almost too much to bear...

He was here with me...he was well...he was not hurting anyone...

But he did not know who I was...

Or who anyone was...

He just...

Hovered around me because I was the first thing he had seen when all his memory was erased and he had booted.

Cyrus did something to him to make him seem less unlike the Mindroid that I fell in love with, he gave him specific instruction to be my personal assistant.

He was to do whatever I asked of him without question...

But it wasn't enough.

I sat in Elena's kitchen at the table, a full plate of food in front of me. I stabbed it with my fork half-heartedly, not having taken a bite since it was given to me a few hours ago...

Alice was playing music over the speakers, trying to make light of the bitter melancholy that resonated through every inch of the house.

But I was just so lonely...

And then the speakers started playing Lespetkami Sloz...

I was playing it aloud one day and I remembered how much joy it had brought Chīsai...

He hummed along and he tried to dance with me but, having never danced, he failed miserably.

He said that this could be, how I would say, "our song", since we both enjoyed it so.

The song was sad and yet happy and beautiful...

And it broke my heart into even smaller filaments of aching dust.

And I cried...

I thought that I had completely dehydrated myself but somehow my tear ducts found the strength to drain me further.

I was so tired...

I just wanted to sleep...

I wanted to sleep and never wake up...

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw that it was Chīsai...

"I sensed your distress, is something wrong, Ms. Borg?"

I shook my head. "No. Nothing is wrong...I just...don't want to see you right now. Leave me."

"Yes ma'am..."

He left me immediately. He was so obedient...he did exactly what I asked of him...

But that was not what I wanted...

I tried to sing along to the Russian words, tried to make myself happy...

But...

I just wanted to sleep...


	22. Chapter 21

Elena

She was deeply depressed by Cyrus's trick...

Mindroid was no longer who he was and Kizu didn't have the heart to do anything anymore.

She grew very thin and frail because she would not eat, and I tried to soothe her often but the poor little angel would merely cry on my shoulder and blubber about how her "meaningless life".

"Your life is not meaningless..." I told her softly, stroking her unkempt mane. "You have plenty of people here who you mean a lot to..."

She sniffled. "I...I don't mean anything to myself..." She whispered. "And I don't mean anything to Chīsai either..."

I smiled weakly. "That's isn't true. Chīsai loves you."

She stated at me angrily. "No...the old Chīsai loved me...this...thing following me just is doing what he was instructed to do..."

I squeezed her tight. "It will be okay...I promise..."

"Don't make me promises you can't keep..."

She left my embrace to be alone in her room.

X.X.X

KizuKeru

No one seemed to understand...

My mom didn't even understand.

It hurts...

So much to lose someone so close to you...

When all of a sudden they just don't exist any more...

I lost all will to live when Chīsai was erased...

I did not want to live...

So...

I was going to try my best not to...

Elena took some sort of medication for the longest while, she told me when I first saw it that it was to make sure her optics didn't get infected...

Well I located it again...

And there were about twenty pills in the bottom...

This would most likely not be fatal to a normal sized person...

But I was very small...

I would probably die...

A tear rolled down my cheek as I poured the tiny white pills into my hand as swallowed them.

_I hope it doesn't hurt..._

I went to my bed and I curled into the covers, very warm...

Very cozy...

It won't be so bad to die.

It is comfortable...

And warm...

I started to feel dizzy, groggy, and I was ready to fall asleep.

Maybe Chīsai will be where I'm going...

I hope so...

If not...

Oh...

Someone was lifting me.

Where am I going?

I could hear running water...

Whoever had a hold of me was taking me somewhere, and when we stopped I felt something being shoved to the back of my throat.

I gagged, and then I threw up.

I could see my stomach contents hit the tile floor...

Including seventeen of my twenty little white disks.

Whoever was holding me sat down, cradling me.

I looked up...

And Chīsai looked down at me, concerned.

"Why..." I whispered angrily. "Why!?"

"I was instructed to keep you safe...Professor Borg would not be pleased if I let you die."

I started to hit him feebly, calling him a barrage of awful names.

"I'm, sorry, it's my function to protect you."

"Idiot! You stupid idiot!"

"I'm sorry, miss."

I didn't have the energy left to fight him, so I just leaned against gimcrack crying softly.

He held me close, petting my hair.

"I'm sorry, miss..."

"No you aren't...only the real you would understand what that means..."

I cleared my throat. "I don't want to hear your lies..."


	23. Chapter 22

Mindroid

I could not comprehend Miss Borg's desire to end her own life.

I understood that humans had emotions and sometimes there were not good ones...

But this suicide attempt was one I could not properly compute.

Not in a way that would make me see her reasons.

She was curled deep into her blankets, blankets that were massive and endless compared to her tiny frame, and she was so silent for the longest of times.

Professor Borg would not be happy with me if I allowed her to die...

And I had made her live...

And she hated me for it I felt.

"Chīsai..." I heard her murmur. The Japanese word for "little". "Chīsai?"

What type of dream is she having? I queried myself.

"M...Mindroid?"

"Yes, Miss Borg?"

...

"Could you come here please?"

I stood. "Of course." And I moved to her side. "What is it you need?"

She looked up at me with her startling green eyes, reaching up. "I want you to lay with me..."

This confused me too...

I did not see why she would want to do such a thing.

Such closeness made no sense when the person asking was just moments ago calling me a "stupid idiot".

"Please?"

"Yes ma'am."

I complied.

I had to comply.

I tucked myself beneath the covers with her and she wrapped herself around my possessively.

"I...don't understand your logic..." I stated.

"Why is that?" She asked.

"B...because...the way you were behaving to me...it would seem you have severe hatred for me..."

"I never said that I hated you...I was just upset that you wouldn't just..."

I hummed in contemplation. "I do not want you to die, and I do not believe you want to die. You are very sad and I understand...but...you do not really have a desire to end your life."

She sighed. "Oh yeah...I'm sad...Mindroid?"

"Yes?"

"What is your primary objective?"

"Why to protect you of course."

"Why?"

"Well...because I was program with the instructions to do so."

She nodded. "I...I thought so..."

She was sad.

I wasn't sure why.

I wasn't certain if I would ever be sure why.

But I did know that she desired my comforting and I was here for you.

It was not a chore for me. She was warm and pleasant to hold and I did like to pet her hair.

It was tangled and currently I was working the knots out with my fingers, being sure not to pull any out.

She squeezed me, making a sad little noise. "I still love you..." She whispered. "I know you are gone and don't know who I am...but I still love you..."

_**Error 837-40.1: Emotional Overload Imminent**_


	24. Chapter 23

KizuKeru

Things were starting to get better...

Not much better...

But better...

Just a little...

Mindroid was starting to function more like his old self. He would come to soothe me without my asking, he would put his arm around me on occasion.

He was very kind.

And though he wasn't exactly the same...

A part of him was trying to be.

I smiled as a frustrated look came over his face. "Ms. Borg, I do not understand the concept of this game any more than I did ten minutes ago..."

"It's just Go Fish." I told him. "I ask for a number, if you have it, it goes to me, if you don't, I draw a card, and then you ask me."

He stared at the cards that I had given him as if they were written in Latin...

No...

He probably could understand Latin...

He looked at the cards as if they were alien baby eggs.

There...

That makes more sense.

"Ms. Borg..."

"It really isn't so hard. Ask me if I have a card by a number in your deck."

"If I have claim on the card number...does that not mean that someone else cannot have that number?"

I shook my head. "No. There are four of each number. Now ask me."

"Yes ma'am..." He thought a moment. "Might...I be able to acquire a six from you?"

_Formal little dork..._

"Nope. Sorry. Go fish."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I cannot go fish, there are not any ponds..."

I pressed my palm to my face. "No..."go fish" as in get another card from the deck." And I pointed out the pile of cards before him.

"Oh..." He breathed, taking a card. "And...now...it is your turn?"

I nodded. "Yup! Okay...do you have any sixes?"

"But...I thought you did not have a six..."

I laughed. "I'm just messing with you, Mindroid. It was a joke...get it?"

He shook his head. "N...not...particularly...I'm sorry, Ms. Borg."

I rolled my eyes, moving to his side and giving him a tight squeeze. "Oh don't be so dramatic, it's just a game."

He hummed. "But I certainly do not want to disappoint you..." He tipped my chin up, making me look up at him. "Especially now that we have started to be come friends."

That struck a nerve, but I just breathed the pain away. "You aren't going to disappoint me..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure..."

"I do hope so..."

At that moment Alice came into the room, seeming slightly frantic.

"Kizu...they've found General Cryptor..."


	25. Chapter 24

P.I.X.A.L.

"The general was excessively difficult to find...he has adapted himself so that his wireless signal is undetectable to our radars.

Zane stood behind me, looking over my shoulder at the mapping program I had opened. "But...according to your usage of the past tense, you have found him?"

I glanced back at him. "I...I believe so. I am not faultless, but KizuKeru stated that Cryptor was gathering an army..." I turned in my chair, facing the other four ninjas as well as my father. "So I started looking for the signals of Nindroids."

Jay raised his hands, shaking his head. "No. Wait a second. I don't think I'm ready to hear what you're about to say. If he is gathering an army...there is no way that THAT many Nindroids survived disintegration during the burst of energy released when the Overlord was destroyed..." He looked to the others, who were quite grim. "Right? Th-that's crazy right?!"

I turned on the radar and a few hundred little blips became visible, all in the shape of a lopsided ring, all somewhere in the city...stealthily making their way to the outskirts.

"Every one of these blips is a Nindroid...and at first their movement patterns were unclear...but then I started to compare them to recent crime waves in the city..."

Kai seemed frustrated. "P.I.X.A.L., how have we not seen or heard about any of these crimes until now?"

"It's simple...there aren't enough people surviving to tell the story...what is displayed on local news channels are merely suggestions as to what happened...and the cases have long been closed..."

Cole grimaced, clearly he was upset. "That's...that's a load of shit! If something like this was happening then certainly someone would have come to us for help."

Cyrus put a hand on his arm. "Calm down, please, what is done is done and cannot be helped..."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "We also are aware of your tendencies to cause significant damage to your surroundings when your temperament is above average..."

He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "I'm not gonna break anything...I'm not that angry yet...please continue..."

I directed my attention back to the screen. "Their movement behavior has corresponded to the crime waves very closely...and it seems they are all moving east..."

"To the woods..." Lloyd said, finally voicing something since his arrival.

"Precisely. And now...this is just a guess, but they are all moving in this general direction...and here I see a blacked out part of the map." I point to an area of the radar map where the indicated woods are a few shades darker than the rest. "This hasn't moved since I first have seen it, it could just be an error in the display of the LED liquid screen...but if my estimations are correct...Cryptor is somewhere within the blacked out section..."

Just then the door opened to the room, and Alice walked in, KizuKeru and Mindroid close behind her.

"Sorry guys...but they wanted to see what was going on."

Kizu rushed over to me, putting her hands on my knees and looking up at me. "Did you really find him? Did you really?"

"Yes...well...I believe I have."

Her expression faded just barely into one of anger. "You aren't going to let him live are you?"

"Kid, we have no idea what were going to do at this point. There are hundreds of Nindroids roaming the city out if sight...and we don't even know if they're actually trying to find Cryptor..."

Kizu looked to Kai, whom had stated that comment, and then to Cyrus. "If Chīsai has his memory then he could tell us if we were right..."

Cyrus bowed his head. "I...am afraid I have yet to remove the virus from the memory disk, my dear...I have contained it so that I cannot enter my network...and...I have discovered...it is a copy of the Overlord virus."

The entire room went deathly silent...

"So..." Lloyd began. "Cryptor...had a copy of the Overlord virus?"

Cyrus nodded.

"And...he..."

"Managed to wirelessly install the virus into Mindroid's system...since the virus was optimized and created for my specific operating system...it knows where to hide so it cannot be found...but my data is safe, because it cannot accept wireless installs."

Kizu had her tiny hands balled into tight fists; she turned to the ninja.

"I want to help you fight." She stated.

They exchanged glances.

"Oh..." Kai started. "Kiddo...I don't think you'd be up for this kind of task..."

She scrunched up her little face. "Why?! Because I'm small!? If you showed me how I could fight! And I would disable as many of those awful things as possible."

She cleared her throat. "They...took Chīsai from me...and I am not okay with that..."

Cole shrugged. "The kid has spunk...should we train her?"

Zane sighed. "It seems she will not give us a choice."

Lloyd walked up to the girl, kneeling down so they were eye to eye. "We will teach you to fight...but you have to be sure you are very stealthy...and very careful. These droids are much bigger than you are, and if given the opportunity they will break you in half like a twig..."

Sternly, she nodded. "I can do it..."

Lloyd looked at me. "Are there any weaknesses that they have that we are aware about?"

I pulled up some blueprints and printed them, taking a copy to each.

"In the bend of their neck and shoulder there is a region that, if penetrated, leads straight to the kinetic engine, permanently shutting the droid down."

Kai sighed. "This is gonna be tough..." He looked to Kizu, smiling. "But I have a feeling that this little redhead is gonna be a whirlwind of fun to work with..."


	26. Chapter 25

Kai

"Come on, kid, you have to stop hitting like a little girl!"

"I am a little girl!"

"Well you need to start fighting better."

Kizu was a whirlwind of fun.

And she was a tough kid.

But she had no idea how to fight.

Training her was pretty much impossible.

I pushed her back, we were sparring, and I told her to lunge at me again.

"C'mon, Kizu, you got to really try and rough me up." I told her.

She was seething, upset, and yet she was holding it back. "I don't want to hurt you, you're my friend."

"Yeah? Well you aren't gonna learn if there isn't pain involved, mine or yours." I gestured to her again. "Now come over here and whip my ass!"

She took a deep breath and lunged at me, striking me a few times, following the form exactly how I had shown it to her.

But she was holding something back...

I sighed, raising my hands. "No, wait, stop. Everyone stop for a second!"

The others were observing, they had taken a turn with Kizu already, all with the same results as I.

"Come here guys." I said.

They came over and we all sort of surrounded Kizu, intimidating her.

"Does it seem to you guys that Kizu isn't really trying to fight against us? Or is it just me?"

They murmured in agreement with me, and Kizu shrunk down low, seeming terrified of us all.

"Something is telling me that she isn't fighting us because she doesn't want to direct her anger at us..."

More agreements.

"So...to get her to fight us...maybe we should make her angry?"

She looked up at me, frowning. "I don't want to be angry with you guys, you haven't done anything wrong."

The other guys stepped back from me and I knelt down to the little girl.

"We haven't done anything wrong? Well you need to do your job! You wanted to fight with us but you aren't showing us anything!"

I was yelling at her...

I wasn't mad at her, but I was trying to get her mad at me.

Redheads are temperamental.

That's just a fact of life, but she had been beat down for so long she didn't know how to be anything other than timid.

And I was going to change that.

"When are you going to prove to us that your skills aren't worthless!?"

She seemed ready to cry. "I-I'm not weak. I promise! I can fight, I can!"

I shoved her back, not hurting her, just trying to hype her up. "Well then show me something!" I stood. "Stop being a baby and fight the way you say you can!"

She stood as well, taking her stance, she took a deep, shuddery breath and threw herself at me hard.

She was doing much better this time, I actually felt stinging pain when she would hit me.

"Getting better. But at this rate you'll never get rid of Cryptor!"

"That's...not...TRUE!"

Suddenly she hit me really hard.

I flew back and hit the wall, staring at her in shock. "Holy shit..."

She furrowed her eyebrows angrily. "I can fight..." Then she fell to the floor.

Zane rushed to her first, rubbing her back. "Are you alright?"

She wheezed. "It's...so hot in here..."

Jay tilted his head just a little. "It's freezing in here..."

Cole looked to me. "How hard were you sparring with her, Kai?"

I raised my hands in defense. "I wasn't hitting her hard at all. Just normal training!"

"It burns! It burns!" She started screaming.

Her behavior was familiar...

Or at least what she was describing was familiar.

I went to her side. "KizuKeru, listen to me. You are burning up because you are holding something inside of you and it is building to a dangerous level. If you do not let it out it will consume you." I spread myself out like a target. "Aim it at me. You can do this."

She looked at me. "H...how do I get it out?"

I shrugged. "Just focus it at me and let it go. It's tough to explain...but if I'm right...just hit me with your best shot."

She whimpered in pain, and she was breathing heavily, but she was doing what I asked of her, and after a few minutes, she sat upright and a huge wave of heat blew us all back.

"HOT HOT HOT!" Jay yelled, running around, his shirt on fire. Frantically he patted out the weak flame. Zane brushed the fire off of him as if it were dust, Cole had just gotten the force, not the fire, and when it had hit me I had diffused it...

Just as I thought I would.

I grinned. "HA! She has the fire inside!"

She giggled weakly. "I...I can do this."

I held up a hand, offering a high five. "You can do this, kiddo."

She accepted my offer.

"Now...ready to get the fire under control?"

"Damnit..." She whispered.


	27. Chapter 26

KizuKeru

I was more powerful than I ever imagined myself to be.

The ninja always tried to go easy on me but they often underestimated my power...

And I would end up taking them down.

Sometimes they would take me to train and we would sit and discuss why my element was fire. I didn't quite get it. I shouldn't have had an element.

I wasn't a ninja.

I wasn't particularly special.

And why was it fire?

Jay often joked that it had to have come to match my hair and we would laugh because it was kinda funny to think about...

Kai told me that every redheads a girl that he had ever met had made him fear getting caught on fire because they just had the worst temper...

I still didn't understand...

I thought I would be something more tame and gentle like...

Water...

Or wind...

...

Back to my point...

Mindroid started coming to my training sessions, too. It must have only recently occurred to him that I could get injured during the allotted time.

"Alright, Kizu, I'm going to take my advances up a notch..." Zane said to me. "Meaning that I am not going to go easy on you this time. And you are going to use your power and your skill to fend me off."

I nodded sternly, gritting my teeth and taking stance.

"Better be careful Zane! Should could easily throw you through a wall!" Cole joked.

I rolled my eyes. Often they exaggerated my newfound strength as if I were just a child and I needed the encouragement...

Getting Chīsai back was encouragement enough though.

Zane rushed forward at me, acting on a form I hadn't yet seen in training.

I dodged his first blow, but took the second one rather solidly.

I wheezed for half a second before striking back, I was small but that made me fast, and I was able to land some kicks of my own...right in his shins.

She snowy ninja cursed very silently under his breath, but continued to attack me fluidly as if I had not harmed him at all, and just when it seemed I wasn't able to stand his onslaught any longer he was knocked to the side by a blur with a loud "oof".

It was Mindroid.

"Mindroid!" Zane yelled, knocking the little droid off of him. "What on earth are you doing?"

Mindroid took defensive stance and glared at Zane. "I was told to protect Ms. Borg at all costs...you were aiming to cause harm..."

"What?"

I walked up to him, taking one of his raised arms in mine. "No, Mindroid, we were merely sparring."

He looked at me, confused. "But...he was clearly stronger than you...why would you choose to fight someone willingly who has skill that surpasses your own?" He sighed. "That is just preposterous..."

I shook my head, smiling sadly. "If you were still you would would understand that that isn't true..."

He just stared at me. "I...do not..."

I gave him a little kiss on his masked cheek. "I know. I know..."

I turned back to Zane. "After we're done here...I want to see how Cyrus is doing with the virus..."

The ninja all exchanged glances, rather morose ones, might I add.

"Kizu..." Kai began. "You realize you might never have him back...right?"

The back of my neck started burning with anger. "I...I realize...but I don't want to lose hope..." I glared at him. "So please...don't take it away from me just yet..."

I opened his mouth as if he wished to say something more, but then he closed it, and instead replied with a simple nod and an "okay...".


	28. Chapter 27

General Cryptor

They were planning to destroy me...

How cute!

And it seems they are in need of assistance, since they are training the little brat.

She is more powerful than I had anticipated, but it is no matter.

I will still end her and her friends...

My army is plentiful where they are few...

They may have strength...

But I have more.

Their underestimation of me will be their ultimate downfall.

X.X.X

Mindroid

"You get stronger every time I come to see you train." I told Ms. Borg, holding her close to me as she had asked me to. "It seems as though soon you won't even need me to protect you."

She glared up at me, though it was more of a sad look than an angry one. "That isn't true. I'm always going to need you."

I looked back to her in contemplation. "Really? How is that so?"

She grew silent. "I...I keep forgetting that you aren't who I wished you were..."

"Well..." I began. "I can do whatever you ask of me, if you are willing to tell me what your desire is."

She grimaced. "But that's the thing. I don't just want you to do something because I ask, I want you to do it because you want to..."

_**Emotional Overload in Progress...**_

"What is it you wish me to do?"

"I want you to love me like you used to...but you're just a machine...and you can't..."

That hurt me slightly, I wasn't sure why, but to hear her speak of me as simply a machine...

"What makes you believe that I cannot act according to your wishes?"

"Because you..." I could hear the wavering in her soft voice. "You aren't you anymore..."

I sat up, pulling myself away from her, and I placed my face in my hands. "K...Kizu..."

She stared at me.

"I...know you think I am just a machine and that I am pointless if asked to do anything other than follow orders..." I looked to her. "But...that isn't true. I feel things...things that I don't recognize and yet they are familiar."

She choked on a sob.

"And I realize that I am not what you want me to be...but I want you to know that I will do whatever is in my power to be what you want..." I lightly touched her face. "Not because I'm obligated by Mr. Borg's orders...but because I feel that I have to do so for you to be happy..."

She took my hand in both of hers and held it tightly. "You're so sweet...I've been terrible to you and I'm sorry...I've just...been a little depressed..."

I smiled. "Well maybe when you find this Cryptor everyone is speaking of you will be a bit happier?"

She returned my expression. "Yes...I will be much happier when I find him..."

"And maybe Mr. Borg will find a way to remove the virus from your Chīsai's memory bank so that he can return to his rightful place..."

She shrugged slightly, looking guilty. "That...would make me happy too..."

I returned to her side, placing an arm around her. "But...until that time...I can try my hardest to please you, if you'll allow me the chance."

She leaned into me, answering to my statement with a drift into slumber...

I would just take it as a yes for now.


End file.
